Willie Nelson Tops Country Charts for First Time Since the 1980s

Willie Nelson is an undisputed country legend, yet he hasn’t topped the Billboard charts since the early days of Stardust,Red Headed Stranger and Always on My Mind.

This week, though, Nelson is back at No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart thanks to Band of Brothers, which he released June 17. It’s his first time in that top spot since his 1986 album The Promiseland.

Nelson thanked his fans in a short YouTube video:

Nelson also earned a place in the Top 5 of the all-genre Billboard 200 album chart. It’s his highest position on that chart since the release of Always On My Mind, which spent four weeks there (at No. 2) in 1982. Nelson’s previous release, 2013’s To All The Girls…, reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200.

Band of Brothers features 14 new recordings, nine of which are new, never-before-recorded songs written by Nelson and Buddy Cannon. It’s Nelson’s first album of predominantly new, original material since his 1996 album Spirit.

“I got on kind of a writing kick,” Nelson said about the album in a press release. “It’s good to be writing again.”